


The Signed Copy

by SpookySusie



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphyne, Alphynecentric, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Secret Santa, alphys is a giant nerd, i don't normally write fluff so this was pretty hard, undyne is so supportive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 18:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookySusie/pseuds/SpookySusie
Summary: Even after camping out in line, Alphys missed getting her claws on the special winter edition signed physical copy of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie’s Winter OVA. There’s only thing for ex-warrior Undyne to do...get her hands on a copy at all costs! Post-Undertale. Undertale Secret Santa forpixel-peridot!





	The Signed Copy

**Author's Note:**

> This was honestly quite challenging to do, as hard angst and horror tend to be my forte, but to make someone's Christmas, I was more than willing to step out of my comfort zone! I hope you like it!
> 
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Six.

That was how many hours Undyne stood in line with her girlfriend, in the snow, with minimal layers because she kept donating them to Alphys. After all, Alphys was even more cold-sensitive than her, and it was only fair to give her all the coats and scarves and sweaters on Undyne’s person.

Seven.

That was how many copies of the signed Winter OVA Mew Mew Kissy Cutie were left, and there were definitely more than seven people ahead of Alphys and Undyne.

“M-Maybe some people will give up!” Alphys said hopefully, teeth chattering as she clung to her girlfriend’s side.

Undyne shook her head. Alphys may lie to herself, but Undyne never would lie to her. “Are you kidding me? Mew Mew Kissy Cutie fans are the scariest, most rabid fandom I’d ever seen.”

As if to prove her point, a banshee scream erupted as the last seven signed copies were given out. The front of the line turned into an all-out brawl, full of weeaboos fist-fighting and attempting to tear each other apart.

“I’ve been here since midnight!”

“Oh yeah? I’ve been here since  _ eleven _ !”

Undyne cracked her knuckles. “I got this, babe.”

“No!” Alphys grabbed her girlfriend’s arm. Underneath the four scarves and layers of coats she wore, her eyes and glasses were all that were visible, and they were teary and full of pleading.

Undyne grimaced. “We did not spend six hours in line in the snow for you to not get your signed copy!”

“You’re gonna kill them! They’re humans!”

“Then  _ maybe _ they shouldn’t’ve stood in line with  _ me _ , then!” Undyne felt that willpower rise in her again, that part of her that  _ refused _ to say no, that  _ refused _ to die or be denied. With a  _ NGAAAAHHHH!!! _ , she ran into the crowd, ready to shed blood for her girlfriend.

Most of the fangirls scooted out of the way, but one brave warrior stood her ground. “COME GET IT, THEN!” she shouted.

Needless to say, the fight didn’t last long. 

A roundhouse kick to the ribs, and the girl was on the ground. Immediately, Undyne got her hands on a copy, her snow-covered boots on the chest of the unfortunately bold fangirl as she held up the shiny shrink-wrapped case in a victory pose. But then, she was thrown to the ground by five security guards The prize was ripped from her hands, and she reached for it, now being the person pinned.

“You’ll have to try another event,” a security guard said. “This belongs to someone else. Give us trouble, and we’ll call the cops.”

Undyne  _ really _ didn’t want legal trouble, not after last time she had to do a month of community service. With a desperate look at Alphys, who was covering her face with gloved hands, she surrendered and lumbered over to her girlfriend.

“So uh...I guess laws are a thing,” Undyne grumbled, stuffing her freezing hands in her pockets. 

“I tried to tell you!” Alphys exclaimed, her voice cracking a bit. “I guess some things are just...not meant to be.” She tucked her face deeper in the scarves. “I’m sorry I asked you to go out her with me...for six hours.”

Undyne put an arm around Alphys as they made their way back to their car. “It’s alright, Alphy. I’d do anything for you.” She opened the car door for Alphys, which made horrid cracking sounds at the ice around the handle. As Alphys slid in, she continued, “Which means I’m getting you a fucking copy.”

Undyne was sure, with the look in Alphys’ eyes, that she was blushing. “It’s okay, really!”

“It’s your favorite anime.”

“Yeah, but they ran out of copies…”

“It’s literally what saved you from killing yourself.”

“That was you, Undyne!”

“And the anime!”

“True…”

“And it’s your  _ favorite _ OVA from it! And it’s Christmastime! After we open presents, it was supposed to be what we did together!”

“I know all that!” Alphys curled into a ball on the leather seat. 

Normally, the way Alphys coiled around herself with her tail was something Undyne always found adorable and affectionately referred to as the “lizard ball,” but when Undyne heard the familiar shuddering breathing, her heart sank.

“Al…” She patted her head. She  _ hated _ it when Alphys cried, and it was  _ absolutely not _ what was supposed to happen, after all this effort!

Alphys leaned a bit into the touch, her tail giving a sad little thump. “Let’s just...go home,” she sniffed. “I’ll settle for the older, non-festive seasons.”

Undyne bit her tongue and said nothing as she parked herself in the driver’s seat, ready to take her girlfriend home. Her heart felt heavy. Though her skin was cold, something inside her was burning with rage and love for the lizard girl that…

“No,” Undyne said to herself. 

Alphys sniffed and peeled off one of her layers as the heater kicked on. “No what?” she said, uncoiling to look at her girlfriend. 

“I’m not just gonna have you settle for anime episodes that you’ve practically memorized! I’m  _ getting this copy _ .” 

“You can’t, though, Undyne!” Alphys sat up completely, putting a hand on Undyne’s leg. “It’s okay, really!”

“No! It’s  _ not _ okay! It made you cry!”

“Well!” Alphys began, but then curled back up.

“Well, what?”

“I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“I’m gonna ask how I can get you a copy,” Undyne said.

“How--”

Before Alphys could finish, Undyne completed the most illegal u-turn of monsterkind, skidding across the ice in a half-circle. Alphys clung to the door handle for dear life as Undyne screeched down the street, back to the bookstore.

“Stay here,” Undyne said as she attempted to parallel park, rearending the car in front of her without a care in the world.

Alphys returned to her lizard ball. “It’s okay if nothing comes of this, really, Undyne.”

“Shut up. I’m getting your anime.” And with a slam of the driver door, a very cold and very angry Undyne stormed into the bookstore. 

The storekeeper dropped his stack of books as he saw Undyne. “How did you get in here?”

Undyne frowned. “Went through the door.”

“I locked it!”

Undyne turned to notice that she not only opened the door, but dragged the deadbolt through the door frame, denting part of the wall with it.

“Oh,” Undyne said, feeling her inner fire rise to her cheeks. “Sorry.”

“What can I, um...do for you?”

“I NEED A COPY OF MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE CHRISTMAS, SIGNED, RIGHT NOW!”

The bookkeeper sighed. “We sold the last signed copy right before we closed. Weren’t you involved in the fight?”

Undyne crossed her arms. “So? I’m not the only one to be fighting out there! Besides, it’s for my girlfriend. You don’t understand how much it means to her.”

“And how many people do you think have said the same thing to me about their own partners? Look, um…”

“Undyne.”

“Undyne. I can’t give you what I don’t have.”

“How the fuck did you plan this, then? How did you plan for there to be an event like this and not have enough copies? That’s poor management!”

“So you come in here, fight customers, destroy my door and its deadbolt, insult me and my business practices, and beg for copies of things I don’t have?”

“Yes!”

The bookkeeper groaned and sat at the desk, head in his hands. “Just get out of my shop.”

The door creaked open, and Undyne and the bookkeeper turned to see none other than Alphys herself, waddling in with all her many layers.

“Um! I’m so s-sorry,” she said to the bookkeeper. “M-my girlfriend is just…”

The bookkeeper froze, his cheeks turning almost as red as Undyne’s hair. Voice shaking, he managed, “A-are you Dr. Alphys?”

Alphys fidgeted with a stray thread on one of her scarves. “Y-yes.”

The bookkeeper straightened, eyes ablaze. He almost looked as though he was on fire. “Oh, this is such an honor! I’ve read your memoir and your works on Souls! You’re  _ such _ a brilliant woman!”

Alphys turned pink around where her face was visible around her scarves. “Th-thanks, but--”

“In fact…” He trailed of, chewing one of his claws. “I’m such a fan that I might be able to pull a few strings for you...if you can do a few things for me.”

Alphys emitted a shuddering inhale, what Undyne recognized her to do before she had an anxiety attack. “Like...wh-what?”

“First of all, if your ever-so-strong girlfriend could fix that door she broke for me. I don’t think my staff can handle that.”

Undyne groaned. “Sorry about that. I didn’t even realize it was locked.”

“No, I would’ve reserved a copy had I know who your girlfriend was.”

“Oh!” Alphys fidgeted some more. “I-is there anything else you need me to do?”

“Would you perhaps...do a talk about your research? I’d love to hear more about your projects with Souls and what you’re doing now.”

She laughed, a higher pitch than usual. “Um...sure! I didn’t know a-anyone actually read my stuff. I-I-I’m just a science teacher, now.”

Undyne stood by her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “So does this mean I was right? That there’s a copy for her?”

“Yes, but it’s mine. I’m willing to surrender my copy for Dr Alphys...on those conditions. I suppose I can wait for the next event, closer to Christmas.”

“Th-thank you for your g-generosity, sir!”

Undyne frowned. “Hand the anime over first, or the deal is off.”

“Undyne!” Alphys stepped on her foot. “Stop being rude!”

“I’m not trying to be rude!”

Alphys clutched Undyne’s arm. “Sorry about her. We’ll work on your door.”

“I’m a man of my word.” The bookkeeper went through his messenger bag and, sure enough, pulled out the copy and handed it to Alphys, who immediately burst into tears, clutching it to her heart and curling into her lizard ball. 

“Th-th-th-thank you. Thank you!”

“Tools are in the back,” the bookkeeper said to Undyne.

“I can’t promise I can make it look the same as before, but...I can at least make the door work.”

“That’s fine. I’ll show you the way.”

As Undyne followed him down the hall to a supply closet, she couldn’t help but think the last thing she wanted to do was spend hours fixing a doorframe and deadbolt after standing in the snow for six hours.

But for Alphys, she would do anything.

Undyne figured the bookkeeper would make her replace the entire doorframe, but he didn’t have any spare wood for that.

“Just...patch up the wall damage until I can get actual contractors in.” And he left her to figure out how to do that.

Undyne had fixed her fair share of doors, being that it was almost a common problem for the former warrior. But finding the equipment at this wee hour of the morning after no sleep wasn’t faring too well.

_ Gotta be strong. For Alphy. _

She managed to find a few things that would help and set to work, casually eavesdropping on Alphys and the bookkeeper’s conversation. He asked for many signatures, pried into some rather personal details regarding the Amalgamates, such as “How did the families react to you hiding them?” and “How do the Amalgamates treat you?” which Undyne knew made her very uncomfortable, but she humored him, drank his tea, signed his books, and agreed to feature her research material there.

By the time Undyne was done, she was almost asleep on her feet, and the sun had already risen. Her arms and shoulders ached, her fingers were sticky with the sealants she used to patch the wall damage, and she was absolutely  _ freezing _ .

“Well, that’s all done,” Undyne yawned, stretching for emphasis. “Let’s head out, Alphys.”

“Oh! Wow, look at the time!” Alphys said with a nervous laugh, clutching her anime like a child would hold a security blanket. “I always, um, get going when I talk about physics!”

“And it’s adorable,” Undyne agreed, parking her head on Alphys’, “but we should go. It’s gonna take a while to get home in the snow.”

“That’s true! Th-thank you for this, really!” Alphys did a tiny nervous dance as she hugged the box. 

“No, thank you for gracing me with your presence! Let me know if that day and time works for you for the signing…” And the bookkeeper was off again, talking about scheduling.

Undyne grabbed Alphys’ hand. “I really need to put her to bed and get her warm. And myself! Temperature regulation.”

“Oh, yes, that’s very important! Didn’t you do research on that, too?”

Alphys sighed and looked up at Undyne, who nodded. She took a deep breath. “W-well, I’d love to talk about it, b-but I really would like to get some sleep.”

“We’ll see you around!” And before the bookkeeper could say more, Undyne whisked her girlfriend away and plopped her in the car.

She got a ticket for her parking skills. Oh well. A small price to pay for a priceless gift.

“A-at least we got a copy!” Alphys said, analyzing it. “Though we did put a down payment on it…”

“That man has some sketchy business practices,” Undyne agreed with a nod, “but I’m glad things worked out.”

Alphys appeared to suddenly find the windshield very fascinating. “I...didn’t know I had fans.”

“Of course you fucking do!” Undyne shouted, making Alphys jump a little. With a pat of apology, she continued. “I mean, you’re really fucking brilliant. And you’ve worked so hard! People can see your passion, even if they don’t understand the science.”

Alphys leaned over and rested on Undyne’s arm after planting a tiny, happy kiss on it. “Thank you for this,” she mumbled.

“Do you wanna watch that when we get home, or just go to sleep?” Undyne asked.

Alphys didn’t reply.

When Undyne got to the next red light, she looked down and noticed that Alphys was snoring softly, drooling a bit in her sleep. Her heart fluttered, and she pulled up a spare coat as a blanket and gave her a kiss. “Sleep well, sweetheart.”

And she brought them home, driving carefully so as not to throttle her girlfriend. She was too tired to think too much, but she was relieved. Relieved that she could give Alphys not one, but two gifts: the acknowledgement that people admired her, and the anime she so badly wanted for Christmas.


End file.
